Frequency or coverage: which is best?

Media owners often tell us their readers need to see an ad several times before it’ll gain traction, but we beg to differ.

Media owners claim frequency builds a successful campaign, with readers needing to see an ad at least three times to secure a decent response. With a limited budget, this suggests you’re better putting all your eggs in the one basket of your best targeted title. You build your brand with just one readership, believing in return you’ll be rewarded with response.

In reality, we find quite the opposite is true. The first ad we run in almost any title gives the highest response rate, becoming the target chased by subsequent insertions.

As a result, with limited budget, we take a ‘far and wide’ approach rather than ‘tall and thin’. We test as many titles as possible showing strong coverage for the identified target audience.

New client, Dream Doors, is the latest to try this change of approach. Traditionally, they’ve put all their money into the Daily Mail, but with flagging results, they’re keen to try our broader approach. Our first schedule includes 14 titles so we’re expecting some interesting comparisons.